HR: 1340h
AN: ED13A-0718    [Abstracts]
TI: Earth System Data Microsets for Education From the Atmospheric Sciences Data Center
AU: Phelps, C S
EM: c.s.phelps@larc.nasa.gov
AF: Science Applications International Corporation, One Enterprise Parkway, Hampton, VA 23666 United States
AU: Chambers, L H
EM: l.h.chambers@larc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA Langley Research Center, MS 420, Hampton, VA 23681 United States
AU: Oots, P C
EM: p.c.oots@larc.nasa.gov
AF: Science Applications International Corporation, One Enterprise Parkway, Hampton, VA 23666 United States
AU: Moore, S W
EM: s.w.moore@larc.nasa.gov
AF: Science Applications International Corporation, One Enterprise Parkway, Hampton, VA 23666 United States
AU: * Lorentz, K E
EM: k.e.lorentz@larc.nasa.gov
AF: Science Applications International Corporation, One Enterprise Parkway, Hampton, VA 23666 United States
AU: Dalton, A J
EM: a.j.dalton@larc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA Langley Research Center, MS 420, Hampton, VA 23681 United States
AB: The Atmospheric Sciences Data Center (ASDC) at NASA's Langley Research Center houses over 700 data sets related to Earth's radiation budget, clouds, aerosols and tropospheric chemistry. These data sets were produced to increase academic understanding of the natural and anthropogenic perturbations that influence global climate change. Scientists have been analyzing the extensive data to discover and quantify the complex interactions and feedbacks in the Earth system, communicating conclusions frequently with colleagues, policy makers and the general public. NASA's Science Mission Directorate aims to stimulate public interest in the understanding of these Earth system science findings and to encourage young scholars to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. However, barriers still exist to the use of actual satellite observations in the classroom to energize the educational process. NASA is sponsoring the "Mentoring and inquirY using NASA Data on Atmospheric and earth science for Teachers and Amateurs" (MY NASA DATA) project to systematically support educational activities at all levels of formal and informal education by reducing the ASDC data holdings to `microsets' that will be easily accessible and explored by the K-12 and the citizen scientist communities. The microsets are available via Web site (http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov) with associated lesson plans, computer tools, data information pages, and a science glossary. Teacher workshops will be held each summer for five years to help teachers learn about incorporating the microsets in their curriculum. Additionally, a Live Access Server (LAS) has been populated with ASDC data holdings such that users can create custom microsets for desired time series, parameters and geographical regions. Currently, parameters from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES), the Surface Radiation Budget (SRB), Tropospheric Ozone Residual (TOR) and the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) are available and provide important information on fluxes and cycles in the Earth system. The first MY NASA DATA teacher workshop was held at Langley Research Center August 4-11, 2004. Workshop participants will be submitting successful lesson plans that they have created to help their students understand Earth system concepts. Additionally, the project team will be reaching out to the professional and citizen scientist communities, both as data users and as additional sources for educational materials. Most importantly, this group can serve as mentors to teachers within their local community, assisting with any initial concern over scientific data use in the classroom.
UR: http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov
DE: 3300 METEOROLOGY AND ATMOSPHERIC DYNAMICS
DE: 1800 HYDROLOGY
DE: 1600 GLOBAL CHANGE (New category)
DE: 0300 ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE
DE: 0800 EDUCATION
SC: Education and Human Resourcese [ED]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting